Running Out of Bounds
by Kagehime3
Summary: After Law faces down Doflamingo, Nami finds herself vigilant at Law's bedside. Some spoilers for up to Chapter 274 of the manga.


**Shaking off the cobwebs to write this little Law x Nami drabble. Based on One Piece chapter 724, so some vague spoilers if you haven't read that far.**

**This is primarily a friendship piece, but feel free to read into it what you will. You all know I ship these two hard, anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they are the property of Eiichiro Oda.**

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She stood silently in the doorway, leaning against the frame with one arm crossed over her chest, the other raised as her hand idly played with a lock of orange hair. Her eyes were fixed on the man lying unconscious, bandaged nearly head to toe, looking weak and frail; nothing like the strong and determined man she'd seen only a few days before. His fuzzy white hat sat perched on the hilt of his nodachi, the long sword resting against the wall next to his bed, never far from its owner even in his weakened state.

A wave hit the hull of the submarine they were in, the rocking causing the tubes keeping him alive to shift and sway for a moment before coming to rest once more. His breathing still rhythmic, uninterrupted thanks to the ventilator helping him breathe.

He'd sent them away, told them to run for Zou and his crew while he faced down Doflamingo alone. She had refused at first. The Strawhats don't leave people behind, especially their own captain and his new ally who actually appeared to be fighting to protect them. She later learned he had his own reasons for facing down the older Shichibukai on his own, a past he wanted vengeance for, willing to die for it if he had to.

"Idiot." She muttered from her place at the door, closing her eyes with a sigh for a moment before opening them again to once more take up her silent watch over him. She didn't have to, but she felt drawn there, felt as though she owed him the company for standing with her crew as long as he had, despite all the doubts she held in the beginning.

Between his crew and her own doctor, Law was stable, but just barely. If they hadn't gotten to him when they had, they very well might have been too late. The instinct to panic over seeing him on that bridge, the condition Doflamingo had left him in, was only quelled by the greater instinct to get him to safety before he was too far gone to save.

Luffy refused to abandon him, and so did she.

The sound of steady, solid footsteps and the tell-tale scent of cigarettes turned her attention behind her to the hall, forcing her to tear her eyes from the other captain to see Sanji's guarded and worried expression as he came to stand next to her. The blond cook peered in on the older man before turning his gaze back to Nami, her eyes were already back on Law, though, her attention rapt and waiting for something to happen.

"Any change yet, Nami-san?" He asked quietly. He owed Law a great deal of respect for what he did, even if he had his own interests in mind, he still took the time to see to the safety of Luffy's crew. Considering his reputation, Law could have just as easily let them die, but he didn't. He saved them, and now they were making sure he was saved, too.

The only answer he got from the navigator was a quiet shake of the head, pulling an annoyed 'tsk' from him as he turned to head back to their ship. "If that shitty captain is even half as strong as our own, he'll pull through, Nami." His reassurances were met with a sidelong glance and nod as he stepped away, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder for a scant moment before walking off back to their ship to guard the kitchen from their hungry and impatient captain, leaving Nami alone to her own self-appointed guard duty once more.

Her eyes were on his face, watching his shut eyes for even the faintest flutter.

She got nothing.

Her eyes cast down to his tattooed chest, rising and falling in time with the ventilator next to the bed.

In. Out.

In. Out.

In. Out.

In. _In. _Out.

The small stutter had her back going straight, eyes snapping to his face to see if he was waking up, her ears listening closely to the breathing pattern as she waited eagerly for him to awake.

In. Out.

In. Out.

The rhythm remained. There was no change.

She released a long breath, realizing she'd been holding it in her excitement. As she slumped back against the doorframe, her hand went to rub her tired eyes, thinking maybe she'd just been watching too long and her eyes were playing tricks on her.

She needed him to wake up already so she could yell at him for doing something so recklessly stupid, going at his own pace without any regard for the ones he was responsible for. He was no better than Luffy, and he was going to get an earful because of that.

He just needed to wake up.

"Idiot." She muttered again, a small sigh in her voice as her hand fell away. Her face was turned down, though, eyes still shut as she let them rest for a few moments. The longer she stared at him, the more anxious she felt, the more her mind saw changes that weren't there.

Minutes passed, her face stayed turned down, her mind circling around one thing, one person, and she couldn't quite fathom why. She only took up the task of bedside guard for her friends, her crewmates- the people she cared most about. Yet here she was, treating him like any one of them. Like Luffy. Like Zoro. People who would give their lives for her and their friends without a second thought.

He wasn't just an ally anymore. He was a friend. He was one of them, no matter how much he'd hate to hear that.

A rustle of a sheet had her eyes back on Law once again, her whole attention on him as she watched a leg shift for a moment. It was the most she'd seen in hours.

Her arms stayed crossed over her chest, leaning forward from the doorframe only slightly as her wide eyes remained on him.

His chest heaved for a moment, the breathing pattern broken once. Twice.

His hand raised as he let out a sudden dry, choked cough.

She was shouting out into the halls then, calling for Chopper to come to the room before she rushed to his bedside to peer down at him and keep him from moving too much.

Chaos was erupting around her, but she didn't move, just waited and watched as striking bluish grey eyes were revealed to her.

"Nami-ya?"

He was awake.

Finally.

"Idiot!"

He wasn't awake long.

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**I had to end it there, just to lighten it a little bit.**

**For those curious if this means I'm back in the fanfiction game- the answer is maybe. I've got an idea for another Law x Nami fic, maybe two. One I have the beginning and some of the middle, but need to shape the idea of who the antagonist would be and how I want to end it. The other will be a sequel to Madness Descends. By the way, I saw someone recommend that on tumblr... I squealed when I saw that in the Law x Nami tag. I love how this ship is taking off now. They just need a lot more good fanfiction, and I'm gonna work on fixing that... hopefully soon.**


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